Tuesday, February 07, 2012

The Eye in the Sky

The eye in the sky over your city will eventually be a drone.


Any government agency - such as your local police force - could loft a drone provided it did not weigh more than 4.4 pounds and was operated within line of sight, during the day and below 400 feet in altitude. The agency can launch the drone without much of a reason other than to spy on you. One would think that drones might be used to collect evidence on a specific crime. One would think that a warrant would be issued as some form of protection of people's privacy. One would think that these provisions of the Constitution can be discarded as the almighty drone will only be used for the good of the country. Of course, how that good is defined is the question.

1 comment:

R J Adams said...

Liverpool City Police in the UK obtained a drone in 2009. Sadly, in February 2010 it crashed into the River Mersey and was never seen again. This is probably just as well, as according to the BBC report:

"Shortly before the crash, police were forced to take it out of service temporarily as they discovered they were using it without an appropriate licence."

Here's the link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-15520279